Fastest Man Alive: FFDCU
by Broken Ben
Summary: Wally West has always been a slacker, despite his high intelligence. But when Wally stumbles into a conspiracy involving his missing uncle and gains incredible speed, will he step up and be the hero the world needs, or will he give up like he always does?
1. A Normal Day

Chapter One: A Normal Day

"Three F's?" Rudolph West glared at his son with a mixture of disappointed and fury adorning his usually stoic face. "You are failing _three _of your classes?"

Wally said nothing. His fingers wrestled with a stray piece of fabric protruding from the arm of the adequately comfortable chair in the Counseling Office. His eyes were fixated on his shoelaces, one of which was untied. However, despite their lack of eye contact, Wally could feel his father's furious gaze boring a hole into his very being, just waiting for even the slightest fracture in Wally's calm façade.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Wallace?" Inquired Mary West, a bit more calmly than her husband.

"I don't know." Wally mumbled just loudly enough to be audible.

"You don't know." His father repeated with an air of condescension. "That's the best excuse you have to offer? I expect more of you."

"Maybe you should lower your expectations." Wally shrugged, and immediately regretted it when he saw his father's face redden to the point that it looked like he might explode.

"Actually," Interrupted Mr. Rodriguez, the school counselor, "That's the reason I asked the both of you to come here."

"To tell us that our son is a failure?" Rudolph said in a tone that made it seem more like an observation than a question.

"Not quite." The counselor contradicted. "While Wally's grades are deplorable, I administered him an IQ test earlier today… and he scored exceptionally high."

"How high?" Mary West asked immediately.

"Let me put it this way. The average IQ of American adults is around 100. Wally scored a solid 175, easily the highest I've ever seen."

A stunned silence fell over Wally's parents. They stared at their son for several moments before Rudolph finally spoke, "He must have cheated somehow."

"I didn't cheat dad." Wally mumbled.

"Then why is it that you are failing three classes, and can't even seem to tie your own shoelaces?"

"IQ tests are really kind of pointless." Wally finally looked up at his father. "They show how much knowledge a person has, but that really has nothing to do with how smart they are. It's just how much they've learned."

"Don't you dare make excuses." His father snapped. "There is no reason for you not to excel academically, Wallace. And until you get your head out of the clouds, you'll never amount to anything."

"Can I go now?" Wally sighed. "I really need to get to one of those classes I'm failing."

Rudolf West gritted his teeth, and glanced over at his wife, who nodded. "We will resume this discussion at home."

"It's not a discussion if you're the only one being heard." Wally replied calmly, and exited the Counseling Office.

Outside sat his best friend, Eobert "Eddy" Thawne. Of course Eddy wasn't actually short for Eobert, but it was how he liked to be referred to anyway, because when you're in High School, having a name like Eobert is an automatic beating.

"How'd it go?" Eddy asked, adjusting his glasses as he always did. The frame of the glasses was far too big for his face, which was as skinny and sharply sculpted as the rest of his incredibly unimpressive physique.

"Pretty terrible, thanks for asking." Wally managed a grin. "Although apparently I' some kind of a super genius."

"Welcome to the club." Laughed Eddy. Eddy Thawne was easily the smartest teenager in Keystone City, Kansas. He held a consistent 4.6 GPA (he did a lot of extra credit), had earned several college credits even though he was only in his sophomore year, and spent his spare time studying quantum physics and other things that give normal people headaches.

"Bet I score higher than you an IQ test." Wally smiled.

"IQ tests are useless."

"That's what I told them!"

"Did they listen?"

"It's my dad. What do you think?"

The two turned down the empty hallway, both obscenely tardy for class. Gym was the only class that they had together, because athletics was the only category in which Eddy Thawne did not excel and the only one where Wally West did.

"You want to just skip?" Wally asked.

"See, that's the attitude that causes you to fail." Eddy grinned.

"Shut up mom." Wally laughed.

"Hey, isn't your uncle some sort of prodigy or something?"

"My uncle Barry? Yeah, he's pretty much a certified genius. Why?"

"I'm doing a report in my advanced bio class about how intelligence classifies as a hereditary trait. And I want to use you as proof that it can skip a generation."

"Asshole." Wally laughed again, turning toward the gym doors.

"What does he do anyway?"

"Barry?"

"Yeah."

"He's some kind of scientist for the government. That's pretty much all I know. I used to hang out with him all the time when I was a little kid, but then he got promoted and started working on some top-secret stuff, and suddenly no one sees him anymore. I've seen him maybe twice since I was ten."

"Are we talking death-ray top secret, or cure for cancer top-secret?"

"I don't know. He's not allowed to talk about his work to anybody, not even my aunt Iris."

"Sounds shady. And awesome."

"Believe it or not, he's actually pretty boring. Everything he says sounds like it's taken straight out of a textbook."

Wally flung open the gymnasium door and walked straight into a figure on the other side, knocking her down in the process. "Oh-" Wally collected himself a moment and looked at the girl he had just unintentionally assaulted. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. She was the single most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life; long, chocolate-dark hair, emerald eyes, and a killer body. On the floor next to her was a camera, an expensive one by the looks of it.

"I-" Wally froze, stammering.

"I believe my careless friend is trying to apologize." Eddy said, helping the girl up. Wanting to contribute, Wally picked up the camera and handed it to her, still staring at her dumbly.

"It's okay." The girl smiled, though it was an awkward one. "Accidents happen."

"Are you new here?" Wally asked abruptly.

"Um, yeah. My family just moved here from Central City."

"Good, because otherwise I would have had to kick my own ass for not noticing you before." Wally rattled off without thinking, as he had a tendency to do when he got nervous. A slightly confused look dawned on the girl's face, and she clearly was unsure of how to respond.

"That was supposed to be a compliment." Eddy sighed.

"Well, thank you." She laughed a little. "I'm Linda Park, by the way."

"Wally."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Wally." Linda raised her camera and snapped a picture of him.

"Photography student?" Eddy asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yup. I'm more into journalism really, but this school doesn't offer a journalism class, so photography was the closest thing I could get."

"We suck." Wally nodded.

"What?"

"This school sucks."

"Oh… well good to know." She laughed, a bit more comfortable now. "See you around Wally." And then she was gone.

"She took a picture of me." Wally pointed out.

"Yes she did, probably to document for the 'biggest loser' category in the yearbook."

"Was I that bad?"

"The moment you opened your mouth, it was like a very hilarious train wreck." Eddy nodded.

"I'm bad with girls."

"Yeah, telling her that you suck usually isn't the best conversation topic." Eddy agreed.

"Well that depends on what she's into."

"You are one sick bastard, Wally West."

…

The rest of the day went on normally. Wally slacked off whenever possible, taking all of his time to daydream. He was a big daydreamer, something his father had always despised. Rudolph West was a strict realist, and there was no room in his mind for anything short of absolute realism. This led him to constantly criticize Wally for always having his head in the clouds.

After school let out, Wally took a short break from his daydreaming to gather up the homework that he probably wouldn't do, located Eddy, and the two set off on their daily walk home. They lived within about two blocks of one another, and walked along the same path for much of their commute, allowing a lot of after school conversation on a daily basis.

"Any chance I can crash at your house tonight?" Wally sighed. "I really don't want to go home and deal with more lectures from my dad."

"Doubtful. My mom is still kind of pissed at you for spilling coffee on her lap last time you were over."

"I said I was sorry!"

"She had first degree burns, dude."

"I would have forgiven myself by now."

"That's because you can't even remembera grudge long enough to hold one." Eddy argued, by Wally's mind was already in a different place. Eddy decided to close his mouth and allow his friend to daydream some more.

Finally, Wally spoke up again. "Why do men have nipples?"

"What?"

"Well, I was thinking about when I spilled coffee on your mom's crotch, and that got me thinking about genitals, which got me thinking about breasts, which led me to think about nipples. And of course, that led me to consider my own nipples. Why are they there? They serve no biological function. Men don't breast feed."

"You're mind works in some twisted ways, West." Eddy shook his head.

"I'm serious though. Why would dudes evolve nipples if we're never going to use them for anything?"

"Maybe because it would look weird if we just had a plain, flat chest?"

"But if we never had them, then we wouldn't know it was weird not to."

"You know what, you are absolutely right Wally." Eddy rolled his eyes. "The absolute biggest flaw with nature's design is that men have nipples. Why don't you take that up with God and tell me how it goes?"

Wally was pondering this thought further when something caught his eye, and he came to a complete stop. He looked at the drive of his house. There was nothing special about the home; a quaint, average middle-class American household in the middle of a regular suburb, just like you would find anywhere else.

What caught Wally's eye, however, was the extra vehicle parked outside of his home. A little blue Prius, exactly like the one his aunt Iris drove. "That's weird." Wally muttered.

"What's weird?"

"I think my aunt is visiting."

"That doesn't seem all that unusual to me." Eddy shrugged.

"But why would she drive down here from Central City on a Wednesday night, completely unannounced? It just seems weird. I know my aunt Iris, and she isn't really the type to just drop by like that."

"Hey, I have a _brilliant _idea. Why don't you go over there and find out?" Eddy grinned.

"I could be wrong, but I think I detect a hint of sarcasm." Wally grinned back.

Unannounced or not, Wally was relieved to see that his aunt was in town. If she was around, his dad was much less likely to yell at him. And that was a very, very good thing. Wally made his way to the front door of the home and entered slowly, examining every minute detail of his living room as he entered.

The first thing he noticed was the distinct sound of crying. A quick analysis of his surroundings proved that the sobs were coming from Iris Allen, who was seated on the living room sofa with her head buried in her hands. Mary West was next to her, apparently trying to comfort her.

Wally looked over to his dad, who was standing with his arms folded, his face stoic. "Dad? What's going on?"

There was silence. Wally's father didn't even acknowledge him. "Dad?" He tried again.

"There's been an accident, Wally." His father finally responded, looking at his son cautiously. "Your uncle Barry is dead."

…

**Teaser: In the next update, we'll see how Wally gets his powers, and learn the details of Barry's death. So be sure to come back for chapter 2!  
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	2. Velocity 9

Chapter Two: Velocity 9

A suicide. Barry Allen's death had been labeled as a suicide by Central City police. Iris Allen had arrived home late from work, and found her husband lying dead on the floor, a bullet hole in his head, a gun in his hand. He had purchased the gun only a month before. Iris was able to verify that her husband had been acting strange during his last days, but refused to talk to her about it.

All of it felt wrong to Wally. Completely, utterly wrong. He'd listened to his aunt Iris and his mom cry all night, while his father remained bitterly silent. This trend carried on into the morning, by which the West home was filled with a dismal atmosphere that could not be shaken. Wally sat at the kitchen table, tapping his foot aggressively. He had ADHD, and it made sitting still for any substantial amount of time difficult.

The repetitious tapping of his foot was Wally's only refuge from the excruciating silence that had enveloped the house. He wishfully anticipated the first spoken word of the morning to break the ominous trend, but no one seemed willing to speak up. Wally certainly wouldn't be the one to do it; he had a tendency to always say the wrong thing in any given situation.

After the sound of his own foot tapping became unbearable to him, Wally stood up and walked over to the loaf of bread on the counter. He stared at the toaster, but for some reason, it felt forbidden. He felt as if simply using the toaster would be too much of a normality on a day that was anything but normal. Realistically, he knew that partaking in a normal daily activity as simple as toasting a slice of bread could not offset whatever strange balance had befallen his family. But still, he decided not to risk it, and simply ate the bread plain.

"Wally," His mother finally spoke, and immediately the atmosphere changed. Someone had spoken, and in doing so completely shifted the balance. "At least make a sandwich of that." She continued in a tired voice.

"Why?" He asked without really thinking.

"Because eating plain bread for breakfast is just weird. Usually a person would make a sandwich, or make toast, or _something_."

"So all of the sudden it's socially unacceptable to eat a plain slice of bread? That sounds a lot like discrimination to me." Wally raised an eyebrow.

"Don't argue with your mother." His father barked without even looking up from the newspaper. Rudolph West was the only man in America who still read the newspaper every morning.

Wally made no response to his father, opting instead to simply lather some peanut butter and jelly onto his bread. As he did so, his gaze drifted to his aunt Iris. She looked tired, which made sense considering she had been up crying all through the night. There were heavy bags under her perpetually saddened eyes. She looked as if she had aged forty years in one day. She appeared to be completely absent, almost unaware of her surroundings. She was too caught up in her own sorrowful abyss to notice anything else.

"Aunt Iris," Wally said softly, managing to evoke a bit of her attention. He knew that he was about to venture into dangerous territory, but he chose to risk it. "Do you think Uncle Barry really killed himself?"

At that very instant, his father's hands slammed violently against the dining room table. "Wallace West!"

"Wally, consider you aunt's feelings for a moment." His mother told him in a raspy, hushed whisper as if she actually believed no one else in the room could hear her.

"It's okay." Iris said calmly, waving her hand at Wally's parents dismissively.

Wally sat down across from her and said, "So do you?" Which earned a disapproving glare from his father, but Wally ignored it.

"I don't want to believe it Wally." Iris said slowly. "But it's the only thing that makes any sense."

"But Uncle Barry hated guns," Wally recalled. "Why did he buy one? I mean, do you really think he was contemplating suicide that long, and he just didn't say anything?"

"That's enough Wally." His father instructed calmly, but his voice carried a threatening edge.

"I don't know what Barry's reasons were for what he did, Wally. I wish I did know." Iris said sadly, and then began crying again. She buried her face in her hands and said between sobs, "Up until about a month ago, he always seemed so happy. I don't know what happened."

"I'm going to go to school." Wally mumbled just loudly enough to be heard by his parents, and then slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"Are you sure Wally?" His mother asked.

"Yeah, Uncle Barry wouldn't have wanted me to let my grades slip on his behalf." Wally reasoned.

"Slip?" Wally's dad looked up from the paper.

"Ok, slip even more." Wally rolled his eyes, and headed out the front door, vaguely hearing a goodbye from his mom and a grunt from his dad. The moment Wally stepped out onto the front porch, he was startled by the presence of a tall man in a black suit, wearing dark sunglasses and carrying a black briefcase. He was about 6'4", with broad shoulders and elegantly combed blond hair.

"Um… hi?" Wally stammered.

"Hello." The man said automatically. Wally peered around the man's imposing physique to see a second one, not quite as large but equally intimidating, standing in front of a black SUV.

"Are you guys like… salesmen?" Wally frowned. He was thinking something more like 'assassins,' but figured 'salesmen' would be a more polite question.

"We need to speak with Iris Allen. Is she in the home?" The man questioned.

"That depends. Why do you want to talk to her?" Wally tried to sound confident, but knew that his voice had cracked.

"Step aside young man." The guy pushed easily passed Wally and walked straight into the house, followed by his smaller accomplice. Wally quickly pulled out his cell phone and texted Eddy Thawne, saying: _Holy shit, Men in Black just showed up at my house._

Almost immediately, Eddy replied with: _Damn, they must finally be on to you._Wally rolled his eyes and returned the phone to his pocket. He then looked back in through the window of his home to see that the men had taken Iris into the living room. Wally ran quietly back into the house, stood just out of sight and listened in.

Iris said, "I already spoke to the Central City police about Barry."

And one of the Men in Black said, "We just have a few more questions ma'am."

"Ok." Iris replied.

"Did Barry ever talk to you about his work at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

"Not his current projects, no. He wasn't allowed to, it was classified information." Iris answered truthfully.

"Did he ever bring his work home with him? Perhaps bring any foreign objects into the house, such as a test tube or a syringe?"

"No, never that I'm aware of. Barry carried his laptop back and forth between home and work, but other than that, everything stayed in his lab."

"Did Barry ever work on any experiments within your household that you are aware of?"

"No."

"Thank you for your time ma'am." The man gave her a nod, and then both of the suited men left the room. Walking out into the hallway, the one man shot Wally a glare that showed he was keenly aware Wally had been eavesdropping. The two men left the house without another word, got into their black SUV, and drove away.

"What was that all about?" Wally looked to his aunt.

"I don't have a clue." Iris shook her head. "That was all very strange."

"You have no idea who those guys were?"

"They just said that they needed to question me about Barry," Iris frowned. Even the mention of her husband's name was enough to break her heart all over again.

"Weird," Wally muttered. The ginger-haired teenager then walked back out the doorway to watch them drive off, looking for identifying marks on the SUV, and realized that there were none. Not even a license plate. "Okay, even weirder."

…..

Mr. Crandall was a bizarre teacher. He had earned the nickname "Mr. Zen" from his students, because of his constantly chilled-out demeanor. Mr. Crandall was once a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist, but had retired several years ago to become a teacher at Keystone City High School. He was well into his sixties, but was still remarkably upbeat and had a very youthful energy about him. His classroom was adorned with various plants, dream catchers, clay statues, and posters with cheesy motivational sayings on them. These items surrounded the large lab stations filling the class, with which Mr. Crandall taught chemistry.

It was the only class that Wally actually enjoyed, but that didn't prevent him falling asleep on almost a daily basis. He blamed the classroom's ridiculously calm atmosphere for that.

"Mr. West." Mr. Crandall tried politely, earning no response from the unconscious teenager. Mr. Crandall smiled, and grabbed the thickest book within his reach. He walked calmly over to Wally's desk, raised the book, and slammed it down with as much force as he could muster. The crash jolted Wally into consciousness with a confused scream. The classroom erupted into laughter.

"So glad you could finally join us, Mr. West." Mr. Crandall said with his usual energetic smile. "By the way, could you please explain cellular respiration to the class?"

There were snickers from several of Wally's classmates. "Sure." Wally shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Cellular respiration refers to the biochemical pathway by which cells release energy from chemical bonds of food molecules and provide that energy for the essential process of life. Glucose is the initial fuel source. The first stage is glycolysis, which happens in the cytosol. Glycolysis literally means "splitting sugars." It splits the glucose, a six-carbon sugar, into two molecules of three-carbon sugars. Glycolysis yields two molecules of ATP, which is basically free energy for cells, two pyruvic acid and two electron-carrying NADH molecules. Then we move into the second stage, the TCA cycle, which is basically a cycle of chemical reactions that would take forever to explain, and then there's the Electron Transport Chain, which is the final stage. The ETC ends with oxygen, which attracts electrons and pulls them along the chain. The end result is a crapload of ATP, which energizes the cells, which allows life to continue living."

Now students were staring at Wally, silent. Mr. Crandall smiled and said, "On a test, I would have marked you down for failing to point out the difference between aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration. But good answer, nonetheless." Mr. Crandall moved back toward the front of the room, and then glanced back at Wally and said, "I'd like to see you after class, by the way."

_Shit_, Wally thought. But aloud he said, "Ok." Then he looked over, and his worry was momentarily alleviated when he saw the new girl, Linda Park, on the other side of the room smiling at him. He smiled back.

A while later, class ended and students frenzied out the door, talking loudly and pouring into the already crowded hallway. Wally remained stationary, waiting for the last of the students to leave the room before Mr. Crandall closed the door. He sat down on a desk in front of Wally's and said, "I heard about your uncle."

Wally's eyes bulged with surprise, and he stuttered, "You did?"

"I used to work with him at S.T.A.R. labs. He was a friend of mine." Mr. Crandall nodded, a sad look adorning his face. "He was a good man, your uncle Barry."

"I know." Wally nodded uncomfortably.

Mr. Crandall pursed his lips, and Wally could tell he was trying to find a way to say something carefully. "So…" he finally spoke, "They're saying he committed suicide?"

"Yeah." Wally nodded again, unsure of what else to do.

"Does your aunt believe it?"

"I guess so." Wally said, uncertain himself. "I think Aunt Iris believes it right now because she's really shaken up, and she doesn't want to question anything. Does that make sense?"

"Absolutely," Agreed Mr. Crandall. "Do you believe it Wally?"

"It's what the police said."

"I didn't ask what the police said. I asked what you believe."

After a moment of thick tension, Wally breathed a very pronounced "No." Then he continued, "I don't believe it. I didn't get to see my uncle Barry very much over the last couple of years, but I knew him well enough. And he wasn't the type to kill himself, no matter what happened to him."

"I agree." Mr. Crandall said. "I want you to read something." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a neatly folded sheet of paper. "This was a letter that Barry sent to me about a month ago." Wally unfolded the paper and read over it carefully.

_Hello Max,_

_ I know how you old coots prefer snail mail, so I'm handwriting this despite the fact that my email is open on a laptop literally a foot away from me. Max, I've stumbled onto something incredible. Dr. Clariss and I continued Jay's research. I know he begged me not to, and I was going to listen. But Clariss convinced me otherwise. He showed me what he and Jay had been working on… Max, it's remarkable. I've made advances into the study myself. But Max, I feel terrible about the whole business with Jay… that's why I'm writing you this letter._

_ You know Jay better than anyone. I trust that you're probably the only man who knows where he is. I've tried to contact him, but I haven't had any luck. He's gone completely off the radar. Max, if you know where he is, please tell him that I'm continuing his work. And tell him that I've made incredible discoveries as far as how it works. I wish I could be more specific, old friend, but I don't want any word of this project to be leaked until I know how to control it. If not stabilized, it could be dangerous. Tell Jay I'm being careful… and tell him that I am literally about to change the world. _

_Sincerely, _

_Barry Allen_

Wally handed the note back to Mr. Crandall. "What was he researching?"

"I wish I knew." Mr. Crandall frowned. "All I know is that the project was started by Jay Garrick, a brilliant scientist who we worked with… but one day, he just vanished. No one knows where he went. Before his disappearance, he begged Barry and I not to continue his research. But… it looks like Barry didn't listen."

"So you don't know where Jay is then?" Wally frowned.

"I don't have a clue."

"What about Dr. Clariss? Who's he?"

"Dr. Edward Clariss was Jay's protégé. He's a brilliant man, but also arrogant. It doesn't surprise me that he convinced your uncle to continue Jay's work."

"Wow," Wally shook his head.

"I think we can both agree that in this letter, your uncle didn't sound depressed. He was excited if anything."

"Yeah." Wally agreed. The bell sounded, and students began filling into the classroom.

"I'll write you a late pass." Mr. Crandall said.

Soon Wally was back into the hallway, headed toward his locker. His mind was now buzzing with thoughts. The conversation with Mr. Crandall had raised more questions than answers, but Wally was now almost certain of one thing; Barry Allen had not taken his own life.

As Wally neared his locker, he wasn't surprised to find Eddy Thawne waiting to greet him. "Dude, this is the second day in a row you've made me tardy." He grunted.

"I never asked you to wait around for me." Wally shrugged.

"Well, I'm curious."

"About what?"

"What do you think, ginger?" Eddy grinned. "This whole thing with your uncle. What's the deal?"

"That's what I intend to find out." Wally stated.

"Meaning…?" Eddy frowned.

"You have a computer class next, right?"

"Um… yeah. Why?"

"Do me a favor and map quest my uncle's house. Here's his address." Wally scribbled the address down on a piece of paper and handed it to his friend. "I need to know how to get there."

"Wally… why are you going to your uncle's house?" Eddy asked, very confused.

"My uncle Barry didn't kill himself. I'm sure of it. So I'm going to prove it."

…

After school ended, Wally began his routine walk home from school. Today, however, he had no intention of staying home.

"Wally, this is insane." Eddy tried to reason with his friend, but the look in Wally's eyes proved that his effort was in vain. "Ok…" Eddy sighed, "Do you really think you're going to find something that the police missed?"

"I don't know," Wally admitted, "I just have to try."

"So you're going to take your dad's car without asking, even though you don't have a license, drive all the way to Central City, break into your dead uncle's house, and look for evidence that probably isn't even there?"

"That about sums it up." Wally nodded, speeding up so that he was walking ahead of Eddy.

"Wally, do you remember in kindergarten when you were convinced that there was a secret door hidden in your house, and that the electrical outlet was the keyhole? So you stole your mom's house key and stuck it into the outlet, and it shocked the hell out of you? This is even stupider than that."

"Hey, my mom _must _have been hiding the Christmas presents somewhere, and that outlet seemed to have no business being there." Wally defended himself.

"Are you hearing me?" Eddy stepped in front of his friend. "I know you're convinced that your uncle didn't commit suicide, but that doesn't automatically mean you're right. And if you try to prove yourself right like this, you're going to wind up in a really bad situation."

"Barry did not kill himself."

"How do you know Wally? How can you say that with absolute certainty?"

"None of it makes sense, alright? He wasn't depressed, or at least he didn't seem like it in that letter. He didn't like guns, and he wouldn't have bought one unless he had a damn good reason. And more than anything, he loved my aunt Iris. He wouldn't do that to her."

"All assumptions, no facts." Eddy frowned. "Wally, let's take a look at my father for a moment. When I was eleven years old, my dad got drunk, which was nothing new. Then he got in a fight with my mom, also not unusual. But then he got in his car and left, still ridiculously intoxicated. Not long after, we got a call that he had been in an accident. He was killed, along with a family of four who he collided with." A look of pain overtook Eddy's face. "Don't you think I tried to find some other explanation for what happened? I tried to deny it, and looked for a truth that I would like better?"

"This is different." Wally muttered.

"How?"

Wally froze, and looked his friend in the eye. "Just drop it, Eddy. Please."

After a very tense moment, Eddy sighed and said, "I really can't stop you from doing this, can I?"

"No."

"Alright then. I'm going."

"What? No, Eddy-"

"Dude, you're already doing something hopelessly stupid. I might as well tag along and make sure you don't wind up hurting yourself."

"Ok then." Wally grinned, "In that case, let's take your mom's car."

"What?"

"It's better on gas than my dad's car, and since your mom is usually napping when you get home, it'll be easier to steal."

"Fine," Eddy sighed. "But you owe me big time, West."

Over the next twenty minutes, Wally called his parents and told them that he was staying at Eddy's house for the night. Eddy left a note telling his mom that he would be at Wally's house.

Central City was located in Missouri, directly on the Missouri/Kansas border. Keystone City, Kansas was almost perfectly adjacent to it. By car, it was about a two hour drive with traffic. They did the math and figured that they would wind up in Central at around 5:00 p.m., add another half hour to get to Barry's house, spend an hour there, and then drive back to Keystone, and they came to the conclusion that they would be back around 9:30.

"We will be in so much trouble if we get caught." Eddy breathed.

"That's why we won't."

"What if we get pulled over? Neither of us have driver's licenses."

"Don't get pulled over." Wally then turned up his iPod to drown out his friend's worry, and the rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

They reached Central City at 5:20, slightly behind schedule because of Eddy's excruciatingly slow driving. His father's fatal accident had shaken Eddy to his core, and since then he was extremely careful whenever he sat behind the wheel.

Forty five minutes later, they were in the suburb in which Barry and Iris Allen had lived. Iris was still staying at the West home, and obviously Barry wouldn't be around, so Wally expected the place to be uninhabited. His expectations proved false, however, when they approached the driveway and saw a black SUV parked in front of the house. Wally recognized the vehicle instantly… the same vehicle driven by the men who had come to his house that morning to interrogate Iris.

"Cops…?" Eddy asked when he noticed the SUV.

"Nope. Men in Black." Wally frowned, "Don't pull into the driveway. I don't want to draw their attention."

"Got it." Eddy slowed his mother's car and came to a stop several feet away from the drive. The two teenagers exited the vehicle and moved quickly toward the house. Wally peered carefully in the window, and was surprised by what he saw. The home had been ransacked. Furniture was overturned, picture frames had been torn off the walls, the carpet had been pulled up, even the TV had been disassembled.

"Robbers?" Eddy guessed.

"If they were robbers, they would have stolen something." Wally whispered. "It looks like they just tore everything apart."

The front door began to creak open, and the teens quickly hid around the corner of the house, staying out of sight. Wally craned his neck to peek over at the man who had stepped out onto the porch. It was the tall blond guy from earlier, still wearing a black suit and sunglasses despite it being a relatively cloudy day. He was on his cellphone.

Wally was able to pick up parts of what the man was saying; "No, we haven't found it." Then there was a pause, followed by, "We've torn the house apart, Mr. Clariss. There's no sign of the formula." Another pause. "Yes, we questioned Iris Allen. She didn't know anything useful."

Wally moved away from the corner slowly, being careful not to make a sound. His mind was buzzing with questions, two in particular; _Who are these guys? What are they looking for?_

Wally edged further along the side of the house and peered cautiously into the back yard. The other Man in Black was there, pacing around the lawn carefully with a metal detector. Wally looked down at his feet and saw a rectangular basement window.

He knelt down and withdrew a screw driver from his back pocket. He had brought a few items that he thought might help him get into the house. Wally quickly began to remove the screws holding the frame of the window in place.

"What the hell are you doing?" Eddy whispered, and Wally held up a hand to shut him up. Soon the frame was off, and Wally was able to carefully push the basement window loose. Once he'd removed it, leaving a small rectangular hole, he turned and began to shimmy in through it. He motioned for Eddy to follow, and reluctantly, his friend did.

With minimal effort, the two soon drifted into the dark basement. Wally pushed a random button on his phone to make the screen light up, illuminating a fraction of the cluttered basement, stuffed with boxes that would likely never be opened.

"Why the hell are we down here?" Eddy rasped.

"Both the Men in Black are outside. That buys us a little bit of time to look around in here."

"Wally, you are officially a lunatic. Are you _trying _to get us killed?"

"That guy on the phone… he called the person he was talking to _Mr. Clariss_…"

"So what?"

"Mr. Crandall said that Barry was working with a guy named Edward Clariss on something top secret. How much do want to bet the guy on the phone was Edward Clariss?"

"Wally, I really don't understand the significance of that."

"Think about it a minute Eddy. The Men in Black showed up at my house this morning to question my aunt Iris about Barry's work. Later, I learned from Mr. Crandall that Barry was working on something top secret, started by a guy named Jay Garrick. Jay disappeared, but his apprentice Edward Clariss convinced my uncle Barry to continue the research… now Barry is dead, and the Men in Black are pillaging Barry's house, looking for _something_, and one of them was on the phone with Mr. Clariss. That really doesn't seem suspicious to you?"

"Yes Wally, it does. What I don't understand is why we are currently hiding in your dead uncle's basement instead of, you know, informing the police that may have stumbled onto a freaking _murder conspiracy_!"

"Just let me figure this out, ok?" Wally pleaded, pressing another button on his phone to re-illuminate the screen. Looking around, Wally frowned with the realization that he had absolutely no idea where to look, or even what to look for. "Damn it," He breathed a defeated sigh, and leaned against the wall. That was when Wally noticed something strange.

The basement was cold and damp. The concrete block walls should have absorbed the room's bitter chill, and became cold themselves. But the particular area of wall that Wally had fallen against radiated peculiar warmth. "What the…?" He turned and pressed his hands against the cement bricks.

"You're feeling up the wall now?" Eddy frowned. "Wally, I think you may be in need of urgent psychiatric treatment."

"Come check this out." Wally motioned for Eddy to approach him, and reluctantly, he did. "Why is this wall so warm?"

"Ok, that is a bit weird." Eddy admitted after feeling for himself.

Wally leaned into the wall with all his might, and with surprising ease, a door-sized rectangular section of the brick slid forward. The wall depressed itself several inches deep before providing a signatory click to show that it would move no further in that direction.

Moving his hands to the left, Wally found that the section of wall now slid easily, opening a doorway into a secret room. Looking into the room, Wally was able to immediately identify the source of heat; a mid-sized heater that had been left on. _Barry was big on saving energy… if he left the heater on, he must have been in a hurry to get out of here._

The teen's energetic blue eyes surveyed the room quickly and efficiently, noting everything that seemed to carry the potential for importance. The room was small, dimly lit by a single bulb. Its flickering orange glow illuminated the pale white walls. Against the far wall was a medium-sized wooden desk, filled with piles upon piles of papers. Stepping carefully into the room, Wally noted that each sheet of paper was covered in complex scientific formulas. There were also markings on the wooden frame of the desk, showing that Barry had apparently run out of paper at some point. A laptop sat open on the left side of the desk, but its battery had died out, leaving nothing but a black screen.

Wally picked up the laptop, closed it, and handed it to Eddie. "Put that in your backpack, there might be something on it we can use."

"What is this place…?" Eddy stammered in bewilderment.

"Apparently my uncle had a man cave." Wally said, at the same time wondering if his aunt had even been aware of this room's existence. He kind of doubted it.

"Dude, we have to get out of here right now." Eddy pleaded, "Things are hidden for a reason you know."

"Just give me a minute." Wally insisted, noticing a black book near the corner of the desk. The cover read; **Barry's Journal**. Wally remembered the Christmas several years before, when he had given his uncle that journal. An eerie chill enraptured him as he thought about his uncle sitting in his secret little room every night, recording his deepest thoughts in the journal. It occurred to Wally that the seemingly innocuous book could in fact hold the truth about what happened to Barry.

A part of Wally wanted to open it, but something deep inside screamed at him not to, begged him to turn and leave, to accept that Barry Allen had taken his own life just like everyone accepted it. As Wally turned away from the journal, something else caught his eye. A glass beaker, corked at the top, tipped over behind the journal.

The beaker contained an odd, scarlet colored liquid. Wally's first thought was mercury, but it seemed unlikely that his uncle would have a vile of mercury lying around. His curiosity getting the best of him, Wally lifted the beaker off the desk and rolled it in his hand, studying the liquid it contained carefully. The label on the beaker read; **Velocity 9.**

_Velocity 9? _Wally repeated it in his mind. _What the hell is that…?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp, penetrating squeal from Eddy, followed by a very pronounced, masculine voice that Wally vaguely recognized. "Well, well, well." It said tauntingly. Wally instinctively slid the beaker into his pocket and turned around slowly, to see the Men in Black standing in the door way. The shorter of the two was holding Eddy in an arm lock that he had no chance of escaping. "What do you think you're doing here?" The taller one demanded.

"Whoa, um… I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere." Wally feigned a smile, "I'm supposed to be visiting my grandma, she's ill and-"

"Shut up." The man ordered blatantly.

"Isn't he the kid from this morning?" The shorter one asked.

"Yeah, I remember the Strawberry Shortcake hair."

"I'm sorry, what was that Blondie?" Wally retorted.

"Smartass punk." The tall, blond man grunted. "What's that?" He looked past Wally at Barry's journal. The man shoved Wally out of the way and grabbed the journal, grinning as he read the cover. "Well now, how much you want to bet he wrote about the formula in here?"

"Oh, you mean the formula that Edward Clariss hired you to find?" Wally chided. The Men in Black both glared at Wally with surprised looks on their faces.

"Yeah, I doubt he's going to be too happy with you when he learns two teenagers found this room in twenty minutes, and you idiots have been trying all day." Wally grinned, "Of course, you could just let me and my friend go, _with _the journal, and we won't speak a word."

"Kid, you just did the stupidest thing ever." The tall man growled. Then, to Wally's horror, he reached into his jacket and withdrew a gun!

"You aren't going to shoot the kid, are you?" The shorter man questioned.

"No, we can't clue the cops in that foul play was involved. That'd screw everything up. This has to look like an accident." The man turned toward the heater in the corner. It was a kerosene heater, and looked to be quite old. The man aimed the gun at the kerosene tank on the heater and fired, penetrating it. The flammable liquid began to spill onto the floor.

He then withdrew a lighter from his pocket, and prepared to ignite it. In a desperate attempt, Wally tackled the man, but was easily overpowered. The man threw Wally against the edge of the desk, sending a sharp pain up the teenager's spine.

The shorter man threw a screaming Eddy onto the floor. In a breathless second, the lighter hit the leaking kerosene, and it erupted into a fiery blaze, immediately spreading onto the wooden walls of the room.

The fire engulfed the doorframe as the two men left, trapping Wally and Eddy inside. Intense heat washed over the teenagers as the fire grew and expanded, swallowing everything within its reach. Eddy was huddled against the far wall, hyperventilating and sobbing into his knees. Wally attempted to maintain some semblance to composure, but his fortitude was quickly being burned to cinders… along with everything else. He looked around frantically, hoping for something to present an opportunity for escape, but all he could think was, _I'm going to die! Oh my God, I'm going to die!_

The smoke was now invading Wally's lungs, robbing him of his ability to breath. He dropped to the floor, knowing that smoke rises. The fire closed in, and Eddy's muffled screams were barely audible over the roar of the flame. A burst of fire caught Wally's lower body, and amidst the sudden searing pain, his frantic mind trailed back to the beaker he had hidden in his pocket, and the strange scarlet liquid it contained. And at that moment, the fire ignited the liquid, reacting with the unknown chemical. And suddenly, Wally was enveloped in a brilliantly colored explosion.

He expected a great, immeasurable agony, followed by the cold embrace of death. But instead he felt… energized. Every molecule of his body began to tingle, fueled by an incredible wave of energy. Suddenly, the world around Wally began to slow.

Every aspect of the environment fell into a slow motion sequence, and Wally analyzed every single detail with increasing speed. His mind began to process at a rate that just a moment before, Wally would have been unable to comprehend. _There's an opening… fire's lower in the middle of the room, no walls to burn up. Safest bet is straight down the line._

Wally moved, and suddenly the world blurred by. There was a tingling in Wally's mind, as if his brain were speeding up to compensate. Wally grabbed Eddy. Eddy's reaction seemed incredibly slow. Wally heaved him upward and bolted forward, leaping just above the fire's lowest point. His shoes caught the blaze and began to burn. As soon he touched down outside the door, he kicked them off.

The fire was spreading into the basement beyond the doorway, but hadn't completely consumed it yet. If they moved quickly, they could escape. Again, the world slowed to a crawl as Wally analyzed his surroundings. _Stairs are blocked. It's a risky shot to the window, but safer than the stairs. _Wally bolted forward, and noticed that Eddy didn't even seem to see him. Wally stopped in his tracks and called to his friend. "Dude, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, a support beam from the ceiling burned off from the rest and began to fall. Time fell into slow motion again, and Wally reacted quickly, racing over and tackling Eddy out of the way. The blazing wooden beam crashed down against the wall, blocking their path to the window.

"We're going to die!" Eddy shrieked.

Wally closed his eyes and thought, feeling his mind speed up more and more each second. The smoke filled his lungs again. _Can't breathe… I need air. Air? Oxygen! Fire needs oxygen to burn. No oxygen, no fire. Ok… I wonder if… no that's crazy… who am I kidding? This whole thing is crazy. Worth a shot…_

Despite his every instinct to drop to the floor and avoid smoke inhalation, Wally stood up and began to rotate. He could feel himself gaining speed, his rate of motion practically doubling by every nanosecond. His mind continued to accelerate as well, bridging the gap, allowing him to keep up. Wally was suffocating now, his lungs drowned in smoke. _Come on! Faster! _

As his mind caught up with his speed yet again, he could see that his plan was beginning to take effect. Wisps of flame reached out toward him, clawing at the oxygen being sapped away by the vortex. _Faster! Faster! _

Wally could feel the air thickening around him as his vortex sucked in the oxygen in the room, and finally, all at once, the fire around him fizzled into nothing but cinders. There were still small remnants of the fire scattered around, but nothing near the scale of the blaze that had previously surrounded them.

Wally fell to his knees, coughing hard, his vision blurred. His clothing had been torn to shreds, and his depth perception seemed horridly out of balance. After a few moments, he felt Eddy's hand on his shoulder. Breathing with equal heaviness Eddy asked, "How the hell did you do that?"

Wally pondered the question for a moment, digging into every recess of his mind for some logical answer. Finally, he turned to Eddy and said, "I have absolutely no idea."

**Teaser: In the next chapter we'll see Wally experiment with his new abilities, and seek out a familiar face… so be sure to keep reading!**


	3. Speed

**I apologize for the hiatus with this story; due to financial issues I haven't had access to the internet in quite some time. I'm ready to continue updating now though, and I hope that I didn't lose any of you awesome readers in my absence.**

Chapter Three: Speed

Max Crandall was seriously behind on his grading. He had a reputation for being the fastest teacher at Keystone High School, collecting papers at the beginning of class and having them graded by the end. However, since the death of his former colleague Barry Allen, his mind had been in other places. Of course Barry's death had been labeled a suicide, but Max didn't buy it. Barry was a dedicated S.T.A.R. Labs scientist, and a very happy man. He had been on the verge of a world-changing discovery, according to his letter. What on Earth would drive him to take his own life?

Max was skeptical. Back when he'd worked at S.T.A.R. Labs, he was highly respected as one of their top biochemists. He had even earned himself the nickname "Max Mercury," although he couldn't quite remember where that name had come from. Despite his fame among the scientific community, even he could not deny that Barry Allen possessed a brilliant mind. Hell, even the notoriously tough Dr. Jay Garrick had been forced to admit to Barry's genius. After Jay disappeared, Max decided it was time he handed over the reins to Barry as S.T.A.R. Labs top dog. Max, well into his sixties, was not content to be bored. After retiring from S.T.A.R. Labs, he'd taken up a job as a chemistry teacher at Keystone High School.

But now Barry was dead, and everything felt wrong. Max looked over at the clock and saw that it was 9:30, well past the time any _normal _teacher would have stayed. Max turned back to his grade book and put in one last F for West, Walter. Max let out a deep sigh; "That boy is so intelligent. I don't understand why he can't just do his homework for Christ's sake."

Max got up, slipped his coat on, and turned off his desk lamp. Moving with a youthful vigor that was quite uncharacteristic of his age, he locked up his classroom and stepped out into the hall. By this time, even the janitors had left the building. Luckily, they almost always left the back entrance of the building unlocked at night. Max pushed the door open and stepped out into the dimly lit parking lot. No matter how much he tried to fight it, Max was getting older, and he couldn't see very well at night. He strained his eyes to find his Prius parked among the lot. Once he caught sight of the vehicle, he approached it swiftly, opened the door and moved into the driver's seat.

However, he soon found that the car would not start. He tried again. Nothing. "Well that's strange…" Max muttered.

"Car trouble, Mr. Crandall?" A smooth voice suddenly echoed through the darkness. Max recognized the voice immediately, and it made his skin crawl. Max looked through his window to see Dr. Edward Clariss… Barry Allen's former partner at S.T.A.R. Labs.

"What are you doing here Edward?" Max questioned.

"What? I can't come by and visit an old colleague of mine?" Edward smiled coldly, in a manner that only he was capable of; a bizarre mixture of friendly and threatening. Edward Clariss was a debonair man, always dressed in expensive suits, with slick black hair and inviting brown eyes. His suave smile and smooth voice could lure anyone into a false sense of friendship. Anyone except Max Crandall.

"Did you do something to my car?" Max asked accusingly.

"You think I would sabotage your vehicle? Max, I'm hurt!" Edward exclaimed, clutching his chest as if the notion had actually caused him physical pain. "By the way, you may want to get your spark plugs replaced."

"I'm not playing any games Edward. What do you want?"

"I just want to give my old friend a ride home, talk about old times. I mean, with Jay disappeared and Barry dead, so tragic by the way, you and I are the only two members of our little clique left."

"We were never a 'friends,' there wasn't a 'clique,' and I'll walk home."

"I don't know Max. It's late, in a big city, pretty dangerous for a man of your age…"

Max was about to tell him to go to Hell, but then noticed Edward's accomplice. A tall, very muscular blonde haired man in a black suit, wearing a pair of black sunglasses… and a gun on his belt. Deciding he didn't want to start an altercation with this gun-wielding giant around, Max begrudgingly accepted the offer. "Fine," he exited his vehicle and stood eye-to-eye with Edward Clariss. Clariss looked over at his daunting bodyguard and said, "Marco… why don't you call a towing company, have them take Max's car to someplace where they can get it fixed."

"Of course Mr. Clariss," the man nodded, and immediately withdrew a cell phone. Edward waved his hand, and a limousine pulled up next to them. In the driver's seat was another thug decked out in black, and he unlocked the back doors. Edward pulled the door open and motioned for Max to enter the vehicle. Reluctantly, he obliged. It didn't take long for Max to find comfort in the expensive leather seats of the limo, decked out with a mini bar, a flat screen TV and an expensive stereo system playing what Max guessed was Beethoven. _All the commodities I expected from an egotistical douche with too much money, _Max thought.

Once Max was seated, Edward Clariss entered the limo and sat across from him. They were soon followed by Marco, the blonde-haired gun-toting thug. About five seconds into the ride, Edward began running his mouth. "So Max, I must say I'm surprised that you've stuck with the teaching game. I thought you would've retired to a life of luxury by now."

"I tried the whole 'luxury' thing. It got boring quickly," Max replied.

"That's because you don't know how to do it right," Edward smiled as he went to work on the mini bar. "I'd be happy to give you some pointers. Champagne?"

"No thanks."

"Oh come on Max, have some champagne," Edward slid a glass toward Max. "Truth be told I'm more of a Scotch man myself, but-"

"Quit beating around the bush Edward. What do you want?" Max demanded.

"I'm sure you've heard of my partner Barry's tragic demise."

"Former partner. He cut ties with you after you tried to take the credit for his discoveries, just like you did to Jay."

"Are you still hung up on that?"

"You stole the fortune Jay deserved. You stole his entire life's work."

"Let's not dwell on the past, shall we?" Max leaned forward. "You remember the good old days, don't you Max? You, me, Jay and Barry… we were S.T.A.R. Labs golden boys. The brightest minds they'd ever known, all working in one lab. But now… Jay has disappeared, you've retired and Barry is… expired. That leaves only me, Max."

"And now you have no one to steal ideas from. I bet you just don't know what to do with yourself."

"That's precisely what I'm here to talk to you about Max," Edward pressed onward. "I'm sure you're aware that after Jay turned up missing, Barry decided to continue his research."

"And he fired your conniving ass. I remember."

"I'll admit that we had a little disagreement, but… it's my understanding that Barry was close to perfecting Jay's formula, before his untimely demise. Max, I want to help Barry's legacy live on. I want to finish his work, don't you see?"

"You want to steal his formula and make a fortune. _Another _fortune."

"Barry would have wanted to see his work completed, you know that Max. The problem is… I just can't find it. You wouldn't happen to know where that formula is, would you Max?"

"Nope. Not a clue."

Edward Clariss eyed Max for a moment, before returning to his debonair smile and leaning back in his chair. "There's actually something else I wanted to ask you about, Max."

"Oh joy."

"Barry's nephew, Wally West… he's a student of yours, isn't he?"

Max stiffened. "Sounds familiar…" he said carefully. "But… I am getting old, you know. I have trouble remembering names."

"Perhaps this will jog your memory," Edward withdrew a folder, and from it revealed several photographs of Wally West, as well as a few of Eddy Thawne. "Ringing any bells, Max?"

"Why so interested in him?" Max asked, dodging the question.

"I think that Wally might have something I want. Something he really shouldn't have. I'd like to take it off his hands."

"Care to fill me in? I'm very interested in the safety of my students."

"So he is a student of yours, then?"

Max pursed his lips. "What does Wally have that you want, Edward?"

"Are you aware that earlier today, Barry's house was burned down?"

"What…?"

"Yes. And the authorities have reason to suspect that young Wally here was somehow involved in the fire."

"I don't know anything about that, but I can assure you that Wally is no arsonist. He's a good kid. Lazy and irresponsible, but good nonetheless."

"I'm going to be blunt, Max; I think that Wally suspects Barry was murdered. Now, you and I both know that's ridiculous… _right _Max? We both know that Barry committed suicide, just like the authorities said, _right_?"

"Right…" Max lied.

"But young Wally seems to have other opinions. Poor, misguided kid. And I think he broke into Barry's house looking for evidence. And I think he may have found something of great significance… something he doesn't quite understand the importance of, you see."

"You think Wally found the Velocity 9 formula?" Max gaped.

"I do. Now, we both know that this could turn out dangerous for the young man. He obviously doesn't know what he's in possession of. I want to help him, Max. Don't you think that we need to take this burden off his shoulders?"

"I think…" Max paused, "I think that if Wally West has the Velocity 9 formula, then it is in far better hands than yours. And I think that if you go anywhere near him, I'll call the police and tell them that you killed Barry Allen, because you wanted that formula for yourself. That's what happened, isn't it Edward?"

Edward let out a deep sigh. "So, so disappointing Max. I really thought we could help each other here. But… I guess we'll have to do this the hard way." Edward looked to his accomplice. "Marco, do it the hard way."

"Yes Mr. Clariss," the thug replied. He then withdrew his pistol, and without hesitation, emptied the clip into Max's chest. The driver pulled the limo off of the back roads he had been sticking to, next to a swamp buried deep within the woods.

"Y- y- you won't get away with this…" Max choked out, coughing up blood.

"Funny thing Max," Edward grinned, "That's exactly what Barry said."

Marco then dumped Max's body in the swamp, and the limo took off. "Where to now, Mr. Clariss?" The driver asked.

"Back to the school, Bruno. I have a teaching job to apply for."

**Eddy Thawne's House – Same Time**

"This is really bad Eddy," Wally paced back and forth frantically, as he had a tendency to do when under pressure. "We are screwed. Utterly, completely screwed. We're screwed so hard that Pam Anderson would be jealous."

"Shut up! I need to think for a minute!" Eddy sighed, tugging on his own hair.

"We just torched my dead uncle's house! I'm sure we left all sorts of DNA and shit, and as soon as the cops find out we were there when the house went up in smoke, they're going to start thinking that I killed Barry! And then I'm going to go to prison, and some big-ass thug is going to make me his wife!"

"I said shut up!" Eddy let out a deep sigh, and closed his eyes to think. "Ok, the Men In Black were there too, right? And they're the ones who actually lit up the house. If we go to the cops and explain that to them, we'll have a much better chance of coming out alright.

"Yeah, and then we get to explain why we were breaking into my dead uncle's home. I'm sure that'll go over well."

"A breaking and entering charge is better than an arson charge, and it's sure as hell better than being a suspect in a murder investigation."

"My dad would kick my ass, disown me, and then kick my ass some more no matter what kind of charge I get."

"Seriously? All this, and you're worrying about your dad?"

"I don't know, ok? My head is spinning at a million miles an hour right now."

Both were quiet for a long moment. After escaping the fire, the two had immediately gone back to Keystone and taken refuge in Eddy's house. Eddy's mom worked the night shift at a local gas station, meaning that the home would serve as a safe hideout for the next several hours.

"Speaking of things spinning at a million miles an hour," Eddy began, "How'd you do that back there?"

"Do what?"

"You know what. You created a vortex and drained all the oxygen from the fire. How?"

"I don't know. It just happened."

"It _just happened? _You didn't even think about it?"

"I… I don't know. It was like… I felt my brain speed up, and suddenly everything else seemed to slow down."

"Think it had to do with that Velocity 9 formula we found in your uncle's desk?"

"I doubt it's a coincidence," Wally nodded.

"Well… let's do it again."

"Do what again?"

"Make your body speed up. Let's do it again."

"I don't even know how I did it the first time."

"That's the difference between you and me, West," Eddy smiled. "You are content to leave mysteries unsolved. I, on the other hand, cannot tolerate the unknown. I want to know what's going on with you, and you dragged me into a definite arson investigation, as well as a possible murder investigation, so I think you owe me enough to perform a few little experiments."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Just go to school tomorrow. Behave normally, go about your business. If we're both absent from school the day after the fire, that's bound to raise suspicion."

"What are you going to do?" Wally eyed his friend quizzically.

"I'm skipping… I need to set something up."

"Care to be a little more specific?"

"Just get to school, ginger. Those of us with souls have work to do."

"Very funny, asshole." Wally smiled, and allowed himself to doze off into an uneasy sleep. He dreamed about his uncle Barry.

**Keystone High School – The Following Morning**

Wally arrived late to school, which was not unusual. What _was _out of the ordinary, however, was the small armada of police cars parked outside the building. _They're here for me_, Wally thought immediately. _The police found my DNA at the site of the fire and they're just waiting for me to walk in that door._

With a deep sigh, Wally pushed open the doors. He remembered Eddy's words; _Behave normally. Don't raise suspicion. _As Wally neared the main office, he peered through the window and saw a man who he recognized from his father's politics-talking-buddies; Clifford Devoe, the chief of the Keystone City Police Department. Because of the angle he was standing, Wally could not quite make out who he was Mr. Devoe was speaking to, but he could tell that it was another man of about equal height, who appeared to be wearing a highly expensive suit.

Wally walked past the office quickly, not wanting to be seen by the chief. He stopped by his locker, threw his backpack in haphazardly, and dug through his piles of papers trying to find his chemistry book. Once he found the book, its binding stuffed with papers that he'd never completed, he pulled it upwards and forced his locker to shut against the bulk of clutter it contained. Wally turned around, stopped for a moment knowing that he had forgotten something, and then pondered it a moment. "Shit. Pencil," Wally looked back, realizing that he had forgotten a writing utensil. He considered going back to retrieve one for a moment, but soon shrugged it off. "Nah, I'll just borrow one from somebody," he muttered to himself.

Wally walked into the classroom, late as usual, and was both relieved and confused when he saw that Mr. Crandall was not present. There appeared to be no person of authority in the room, and the students were taking full advantage of their freedom, chattering loudly. Wally noticed the new girl, Linda Park, smiling at him from across the room. Wally hadn't gotten much sleep on Eddy's bedroom floor, so he had chosen to energize himself that morning with about a dozen Monsters and a Red Bull, and simply double dosed his ADD meds to keep from bouncing off the walls. The two balanced each other out well. In addition, the mixture had imbued him with a temporary confidence that motivated him to do things he otherwise never would; such as actually approach her rather than just stare across the room all day.

"Hi," he smiled.

"Why do you smell like smoke?"

Wally frowned immediately. _Damn it, I didn't even change clothes after the fire. I probably smell like a walking bonfire. _"Um… I got a ride from Eddy this morning. He refuses to roll the window down when he smokes in his car," Wally lied.

"Eddy smokes?"

"Oh yeah, like, _chain _smokes," Wally nodded. In truth, Eddy had never touched a cigarette in his life and probably never would. Wally again thanked the mixture of energy drinks and ADD meds for keeping him at the perfect balance of calm; normally he got all nervous and sweaty when he lied.

"Wow, I never would have guessed."

Wally noticed the bag hanging off of Linda's shoulder. "Your camera?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah. I've gotten really into photography. Nerdy, I know…"

"No, it's cool." Wally assured her.

"Thanks. You have any hobbies?"

"Does sleeping count?"

She laughed a little, but before she could form a response, the door opened and a tall man entered, wearing a suit that had likely cost more than Wally's house. His very presence commanded immediate attention, but his expression was warm and friendly. He allowed everyone a moment to quiet down. While the students took their seats, Wally felt the man's eyes lock on his, and he stared with a hungry interest; like a hunter eyeing its prey. _Who is this guy_? Wally thought as he sat down next to Linda.

"Good morning class," he said in a voice that was smooth and charismatic, drawing in the class's attention effortlessly. "Mr. Crandall is not present today. I will be your instructor." Wally pursed his lips. _Mr. Crandall is never absent. Ever. Who is this guy? _The man continued, "Allow me to introduce myself."

He turned and began writing his name on the board. "I'm Mr. Clariss." Immediately, Wally's stomach flipped. _Clariss… I've heard that name before… Edward Clariss! That's the guy who worked at S.T.A.R. Labs with Barry. Mr. Crandall said they had a 'disagreement.'_

Wally leaned over to Linda and whispered, "Mr. Crandall's gone? That's a first."

"You didn't hear?" Linda sounded surprised.

"Hear what?"

"Mr. Crandall never came home last night. His wife reported him missing this morning."

Now Wally was nearing panic mode. _Barry dead, Mr. Crandall missing… all in the same week? And now their old colleague is my substitute teacher? No way that's a coincidence. _There was one element of relief, however. The police could have been just looking for clues about Mr. Crandall. Maybe they weren't there for Wally after all.

The class went by at an excruciatingly slow rate. Mr. Clariss wanted to see just how well his old colleague had educated them, and so the whole period was basically a giant trivia challenge; Mr. Clariss bombarded the students with questions, but he did it with charisma and charm, and kept humor flowing. The class quickly fell in love with him, enraptured by his performance. He seemed to call on Wally for every other question he asked, and was quick to make a fool of him if he gave anything short of a perfect answer.

"Damn, what did you do to piss this guy off?" Linda whispered.

"He's jealous of my amazing good looks," Wally responded.

"Well I can't argue with him there," she laughed. After that, Wally sat and smiled like an idiot until he was hit with the next question.

At the end of the period, Wally was quick to jump for the door, but that smooth, debonair voice caught up to him; "Mr. West, I'd like to see you a moment." With a deep sigh, Wally waited for everyone to exit the classroom and then approached Mr. Clariss at the front desk.

"Yes sir?" Wally asked as plain and ordinarily as he could.

"I was just looking over Mr. Crandall's grade book here… and I'm a bit confused as to how you are failing this class. From what I observed today, you're without a doubt the sharpest knife in this backwoods hillbilly drawer."

"I take it your from Central City, sir?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"People from Central City tend to be stuck up, two-faced pricks."

Mr. Clariss stiffened, and locked his gaze on Wally for a moment, as if pondering how to react. He settled on a laugh, and shot Wally another friendly smile. "Well I hope you didn't feel that way about your uncle Barry." Wally noticed immediately how he used the word 'didn't' when talking about Barry. Past tense.

"I wasn't very familiar with my uncle, sir. He didn't come around much except on Christmas."

"Yes, Barry always was very absorbed in his work. I was his partner for several years, you know."

"Until you tried to take all the credit for his work and he booted your ass out the door."

"You've been talking to Mr. Crandall, haven't you Wally?"

"He told me a thing or two."

Mr. Clariss stared at Wally a bit longer, with that same hungry expression in his eyes. He was constantly analyzing Wally, formulating his next move. But he kept that same warm smile plastered on his face. _This guy would be a damn good poker player,_ Wally thought.

"Wally, I want us to be friends. It's true that I had a bit of a falling out with your uncle, but he was a dear friend to me and I'm greatly saddened by his suicide."

"Uh-huh."

"I think that you and I could have a very lucrative relationship Wally, I really do."

"Are you coming on to me? Because I can get you fired for that."

"Are you aware that there was a fire at your uncle's house, Wally?"

"No sir."

"Just last night. Rather tragic."

"It is sir."

"I was just wondering if you might have any idea as to what started that fire, Wally. Do you have any idea?"

"No sir."

"I noticed that your friend Eobert is absent today."

"He goes by Eddy."

"Eddy. Of course. Where is he today?"

"Sick I guess."

Mr. Clariss stared for a while longer, and finally leaned forward. "Ok then, you're free to go Wally. And hey, just because we're friends, I'm going to bump your grade up to a B. Deal?"

"Ok, but if this turns into a sex thing, I can get you fired in a heartbeat."

"I admire your sense of humor, Wally. That was something your uncle severely lacked."

"Good to know sir."

"Oh, and Wally…"

"What?"

"It really is in your best interest to accept this friendship. Because I have a feeling that I'm going to be here for a very long time…"

**West Home – Several Hours Later**

Wally decided to stop home before meeting with Eddy. Partly because he hadn't seen his parents in over twenty four hours, and partly because he was hungrier than he had ever been in his life. As he approached his home, however, he spotted a police cruiser parked outside. "Crap."

As Wally neared his doorstep, the door opened to reveal Clifford Devoe, the chief of police. "Hello Wally," he said in a gruff voice. "Good day at school?"

"Yeah," Wally lied. He found himself doing that more and more lately.

"Good. I was just informing your aunt Iris about the fire at her home in Central City… so tragic. First her husband dies, and then in the same week she loses her house."

"Yes sir. Very tragic," Wally nodded, relieved to learn that Devoe wasn't there to question him. Suddenly, Wally's stomach let out a guttural roar. Devoe's eyes widened, and he chuckled.

"Sounds like I'd better get out of your way so you can eat, son!"

"Thank you sir," Wally moved into his house and let out a deep sigh. He could faintly hear his Aunt Iris weeping in the other room.

"Wally," said the gruff voice of Rudolph West.

With a groan, Wally turned and faced his father. "Hey dad."

"I noticed you being exceptionally polite to Mr. Devoe, thank you for that."

"No problem," Wally quickly threw together a sandwich compiled of his favorite ingredients; everything. As he ate, he headed for the door.

"Going somewhere?"

"I'm supposed to meet Eddy, we're going to study."

"Uh-huh," Wally's father rolled his eyes. "You're _always _going to study. And yet your grades never improve."

"Actually, you might want to check my grade in Chemistry. I think you'll be surprised," Wally grinned, remembering Mr. Clariss's offer to raise it. Of course Mr. Clariss's friendliness was only a trap, to lure Wally into a false sense of security. But that didn't mean that Wally couldn't take advantage of it.

By the time he stepped out onto the porch, Wally had already finished his giant-sized sandwich, and was already hungry again. He texted Eddy; '_Hey, where are you?'_

A few moments later, Eddy replied; '_In the woods. Meet at the old tree house.'_

Wally hopped on his bike and took off. When they were little, he and Eddy had built a makeshift tree house in the woods, just out of city limits. They hadn't been there in years.

Wally arrived about fifteen minutes later, to the area devoid of anything but birds and trees. Leaves crunched under his feet, which made him cringe. He had always hated that noise. He looked around the area diligently, looking for some sign of Eddy, but found none.

Just as he pulled out his phone to text Eddy again, a sharp pain jolted into his back. Wally let out a yelp and leapt forward, clutching his lower back. He spun around to see Eddy, holding a new BB gun and wearing a smug expression on his face.

"What the hell dude?" Wally shouted.

"We're going to test your super speed, remember?" Eddy began to pump the gun. "I'm thinking it might be reactive. Like, in that fire last night, you were in danger and your brain sped up to compensate. So we're going to simulate danger."

"By shooting me?"

"Yup. I bought this today; it's the most powerful BB gun on the market. If this bitch doesn't draw some superhuman reaction time out of you, nothing will."

"Wait, if we're testing my reaction speed, then what was the point of shooting me in the back? I can't react if I don't even know it's there!"

"Yeah… that one was just for fun."

"You are kind of a shitty friend, you know that?"

"Oh quit complaining, it's not like you can do better," Eddy laughed, and took aim for another shot. Wally prepared himself, Eddy pulled the trigger, and… the projectile pelted Wally in the chin. He let out a scream and clutched his chin, where the skin was already bruising.

"I don't like this!" Wally shouted.

"Were you even trying?"

"Yes I was trying!"

"Well… try harder," Eddy shrugged.

"Can you aim a bit lower? I really don't want you destroying my beautiful face."

"Fine," Eddy fired off another shot. This one blasted Wally in the crotch. The redhead immediately fell to his knees.

"Dude!"

"You said aim lower!"

"You shot me in the dick!"

Eddy let out a disappointed sigh, and propped himself against the gun. "Maybe it was just a one-time thing."

"I'm thinking so," Wally agreed, still in pain.

"Let's try it one more time."

"No."

"Don't be a pussy."

"You shot Little Wally, man. When you shoot Little Wally, the game is over."

"Alright. I just thought you might humor me in what could be our last moments together, before we get locked up for the rest of our lives… because of that arson charge you dragged me into… oh, and that possible murder charge… you know, the charges that I'll be getting because I decided to be a good friend and help you? But, you know…"

"Fine. One more time, and if it doesn't work, I'm kicking your ass."

"Fair enough." Eddy raised the gun, and began to take aim. "Now, Wally, I need you to really concentrate on this one. Don't just let it fly and expect your reflexes to take over; actually think about it."

"Alright."

"Ready?"

"Yeah, just shoot."

Eddy squeezed the trigger, and in the same instant the shot was fired. But this time, something different happened from Wall's perspective. The entire world seemed to slow to a crawl. Wally could see the projectile leave the barrel, and begin its path toward him. Wally could see the bullet's every spiral, and watched his perception slow as his mind began to process faster and faster.

In one swift movement, Wally caught the BB between two fingers, rolled it over in the palm of his hand, and zoomed behind Eddy… all before Eddy had even heard the gun fire. Wally flicked the BB and hit Eddy in the back of the head.

Surprised, Eddy spun around, dropping the gun. "Whoa! That is awesome!" Eddy laughed, smiling triumphantly.

"Ok, I admit, that was _really _cool," Wally smiled back.

"Now we just need to figure out how to trigger it manually. Did you do anything in particular?"

"Not really. I just sort of… tried to think faster, and my brain compensated for it, and suddenly I sped up, and everything around me slowed down."

"So… your body responds to how fast you want to move, and in turn, your brain speeds up function to compensate for your body's speed… which in turn, causes you to perceive things as moving more slowly.

"Um… yeah. Let's go with that."

"Whoa…" Eddy reached toward Wally's chin.

"What?"

"The bruise on your chin. It's gone already."

"Really?" Wally noticed that the pain was suddenly absent.

"I think that when you speed up, everything about you speeds up, including your healing."

"Makes sense I guess," Wally nodded. Suddenly, his stomach roared again. "Think that includes my metabolism? Because I can't seem to get full today."

"Come on then, let's go get something to eat."

"Ok, but you're buying."

"Dude, I shot you in the dick. Of _course _I'm buying."

"Good. That almost makes us even."

"Almost?"

"Yeah, just one thing…" Without warning, Wally punched his friend mercilessly in the crotch. Eddy hit the ground, enveloped in a mixture of surprise and pain. "There, now we're even."

**Burger King – Ten Minutes Later**

"So… Mr. Crandall is missing?"

"Yup," Wally replied through a full mouth.

"And this Edward Clariss guy is suddenly taking his place?"

"Just until Mr. Crandall comes back. But as I was leaving today, Mr. Clariss said, 'I think I'll be here for a _very _long time,' or something like that."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know… maybe he did something to Mr. Crandall…"

"But why? I mean, is he _that _desperate to become a High School teacher?"

"I think it goes deeper than that," Wally shoveled another order of fries into his mouth. "Like, way deeper."

"That's what she said."

"Dude… really? Are we twelve now?"

"I couldn't resist."

Wally inhaled his fourth burger, and Eddy gazed at him in awe. "That is disgusting, bro."

"I'm hungry!"

"And I'm broke, so you're going to have to slow down."

"So…" Wally leaned forward. "If Mr. Clariss did something to Mr. Crandall… do you think he might also be the one who shot Barry?"

"Maybe. But then what do the Men in Black have to do with it?"

"I don't know, maybe there his henchmen or something."

"Henchmen? Wally, we aren't dealing with Dr. Doom here. This is a disgruntled scientist who likes expensive clothing and has a grudge against your uncle."

"Come on… Barry dies, Mr. Crandall goes missing and Edward Clariss, Barry's _former partner, _suddenly replaces Mr. Crandall? That cannot all be coincidence."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, Wally. It's just… this whole thing is freakin' insane."

"I know."

"We should go to the police. Chief Devoe is friends with your dad, he'll hear you out."

"But it won't matter if we don't have proof. Plus, what am I going to say? 'Hey, I broke into my uncle's house because, even though it's officially a suicide, I used my tenth-grade education to determine that he was actually murdered. And then these thugs in suits showed up and burned the place down, but I escaped with a super speed formula that I accidentally blew up?'"

"Ok, you're right. So what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"I've been thinking about that…" Wally sighed. "There's only one reason I can think of that Mr. Clariss would take a teaching job. And it's the same reason those thugs were at Barry's house last night. He wants the Velocity 9 formula."

"And he knows you have it," Eddy nodded. "Or at least, he suspects that you do."

"Right. But he probably doesn't know that it blew up in the fire, or that I have some kind of weird speed powers because of it."

"Probably not," Eddy agreed. "Continue."

"Well, we know that my uncle Barry _perfected _the Velocity 9 formula… but he didn't start it. Jay Garrick started working on it years ago, but then he disappeared, and he left a bunch of notes begging that his research not be continued by anyone. But my uncle didn't listen. Barry finished the formula, and then Dr. Clariss killed him for it."

"Right. How does any of this help us?"

"Because there's still someone out there with knowledge of the formula. It's a long shot… but maybe he'll help…"

"Wait, Wally, are you talking about…"

"Yeah. We need to find Jay Garrick."


End file.
